Camping with Right Knowledge

By Tsou, Fang-Ting（鄒芳婷）

Most people think that camping is a great leisure activity to get close to nature and improve the relationships among family members. But is it true? Children running across artificial grassland, setting a campfire anywhere for a sense of being in the wilderness – such incidences show that instead of getting close to nature, people without common sense about camping may harm environment inadvertently.

 

In the past decade, camping has became a popular leisure activity because of the convenience. From affordable to expensive prices, there are different kinds of campsites; campers can even borrow equipment from the store. Huang Teng-Kuan（黃騰寬） and Lai Sz-Fang （賴思方）, a couple who runs a non-profit campsite in Jianshi（尖石）, Hsinchu（新竹） said they want to build an area where people not only can learn how to live with nature peacefully but also make friends with people from different areas of the world. Despite the ecology guide（生態導覽）, there is a popular DIY activity on the campsite. They invite artists to design a series of seal called “Monster.” Children can use their imagination to create their own little monsters for stamps and develop their own cultural features.

 

As an owner, Lai Sz-Fang would like to share some messages. “We got many calls for camping reservation and half of them asked us about the shelter recently. It make us nervous.” Some terrible campsite situations happen in Taiwan recently and one of them is metal roof. Most campsite owners would cater to the customers and change the environment. To build metal roof, it’s necessary to destroy hillsides and bulldoze trees. What’s more, the metal roof is so low that people who set tents under it can’t avoid radiation, which harms the body, just like microwave. The tent platform made of wood（木棧板） is a common facility in campsites. However, some conscienceless owners provide platform that have been treated with preservatives, which may influence both human health and the ecology.

 

“Experiencing a little bit inconvenience is a part of camping,” said Huang Teng-Kuan. If there are no demands, there will be no supplies. People who go camping should realize the importance of selecting the right place and having the correct knowledge. Respect the nature and learn from it – so we can achieve sustainable development.

It’s our duty is to hand over safe and beautiful campsites to our future generations.